Crews from tourism companies in Aysén reported the discovery in Laguna San Rafael National Park, near the facilities of the "Huillines 3" center, owned by Cooke Aquaculture, which are practically abandoned. The second dead humpback whale was in a culture center of the Australis Mar company in Magallanes, inside the Kawésqar National Reserve. A few meters from the Salmonid Fattening Center "Huillines 3".inside the Laguna San Rafael National Park in the Estero Cupquelán, Aysén Region, was found. the body of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). The facility, which is no longer in operation, is owned by Cooke Aquaculture and has starred in various administrative and legal disputesThe company has even halted the planting of 170,000 salmon in 2022 by order of the Superintendence of the Environment (ratified by the Environmental Court of Valdivia), due to its possible environmental effects. One of the records was made at the end of October by the crew of the nautical tourism company Kawésqar Patagonia, which runs tours from Explorers Bay to San Rafael Lagoon. The whale, that day about 600 meters from the center, "was at the edge of the coast, we approached to appreciate it to see it more clearly, we were able to identify that it was a specimen of a humpback whale, about 12 to 13 meters" he said. Yimmy Avendaño. As far as could be seen, "it was already quite swollen, which generates a death date of several days, we are talking about three or four, according to what we commented with our colleagues". At that point, "the smell is quite strong, so we couldn't get much closer," explained the guide. For its part, Carla Zúñigafrom another nautical tourism company, explained that a few days before, around 2:30 pm, returning from a tour of the lagoon, "we approached to see a white lump that we had seen in the morning in the same sector. It was a dead whale, apparently a humpback about 11 meters long. It was already swollen and had some wounds, it was a very sad situation," he said. That day, the body of the cetacean was a few meters from the center's buoys. In the previous days, it had been noted that in that sector "..." had been sighted.murmurs"The whale blows on the surface, which is the procedure by which a whale comes out of the water to expel condensed steam to breathe. "A few weeks ago we saw the blowing of a whale close to that sector," said Zúñiga. It is not yet clear whether or not it is the same whale that has been swimming around the area for weeks. The complaint has already been made to the National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca) via email, and it is hoped that an autopsy can be performed in order to clearly establish the cause of death of the cetacean, ruling out or confirming the impact that the pollution present in the area, mainly from plastics and microplastics, may have had. The "Huillines 3" Salmonid Fattening Center is currently unmanned and practically abandoned, with buoys, corridors and the aquaculture pontoon. During a recent visit to the pontoon, it was found that there are containers labeled as deposits of chemicals and hazardous, toxic and corrosive substances. Another case in Kawésqar National Reserve in Magallanes This event is in addition to another similar event that also occurred during the same period in the Kawésqar National Reserve, Magallanes Region, where Sernapesca was notified about the finding of a dead humpback whale in a culture center of the company Australis Mar, located in Glacier Sound. As a result of this, the agency referred the information to the Regional Prosecutor's Office, since, although "the company informed us about what happened, it is crucial to investigate how it happened and to adopt the necessary measures for the adequate removal of the whale from the culture center", said Ximena Gallardo, director of Sernapesca Magallanes.
Situations like this have alerted regional, national and international organizations, and have led them to demand the removal of the cultivation centers from the protected areas, without relocation, under the umbrella of the "Save Patagonia" campaign. Save Patagonia!". This is promoted by the Alliance for the Defense of Protected Areas, which brings together 50 organizations from Aysén and Magallanes, among others from the rest of the country and abroad.